


Mother's Day

by Animal_Arithmetic



Series: Upon These Golden Sands I Built My House of Dreams [2]
Category: Supernatural, The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Feelings, Gen, Kindergarten, Mama Jaskier, Mother's Day, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22443883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animal_Arithmetic/pseuds/Animal_Arithmetic
Summary: Mother's Day is just around the corner, and Dean doesn't have a mom to make a card for.Or does he?
Series: Upon These Golden Sands I Built My House of Dreams [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614880
Comments: 21
Kudos: 804





	Mother's Day

**Author's Note:**

> If you've stumbled upon this, might wanna start at the first work of the series so you aren't too lost ha

Susanna clapped three times to gather her students’ attention. They were five and six and quite rambunctious, and only barely settling down after their snacks. “Alright, class! Does anyone know what holiday is coming up soon?”

“Summer!” one child called out, garnering a spattering of giggles.

“Not quite.” Susanna smiled at the kids and spread out her arms. Lord, though, she was ready for summer and a quiet break from dealing with so many children. “This weekend is Mother’s Day!”

She tried to hide her grimace when she saw Dean duck his head. He was the only one this year who didn’t have a mother. The notes in his file that the counselor and principle had given her said she had died in a fire only the year before, which was why he was so quiet and withdrawn and had to see Penny twice a week. The poor dear had watched his mother die right in front of his eyes. Unfortunately, she couldn’t figure out a way to keep him from the craft since his sessions didn’t run long enough and the other children couldn’t keep secrets to save their lives. He would have found out one way or another that he had been left out, and Susanna couldn’t have that.

Instead of crying like she wanted to, Susanna directed her students to the craft station and her aide, Stacy, helped get them set up. Dean was the only one who didn’t move from his seat, instead resting his head on his arms. Were his shoulders shaking?

Oh, dear.

Susanna walked over, dodging giggling children. She crouched beside him, careful to keep a bit of distance so as not to startle him. “Hey, Dean,” she said softly, tapping the desk to get his attention when he didn’t look up. “You don’t want to participate?”

Dean shrugged, keeping his head hidden. The boy had made so much progress throughout the year that it was disheartening to see him clam up again. He wasn’t a chatterbox by any means, but it was a sight better than the muteness at the start of the year. Now, nine months later, he would at least say a few words throughout the day.

“I know you don’t have a mom anymore,” she said quietly, careful of any prying ears. The other children were still gathering their supplies, but Dean didn’t need them to overhear and bombard him with questions. “But maybe you could make one for your dad?”

Dean shrugged again, but then, curiously, he tentatively lifted his head. “But he’s my dad.”

“Well,” she said slowly, quickly trying to think. “But he cares for you a lot, too, right? Like a mom?”

“I dunno...” Dean stared at his little hands. “Can I make a card for Jasky?”

Jasky? Was that supposed to be short for Jaskier? The nickname confused her, honestly. On the forms he was Julian Pankratz but when he had first picked up Dean he had introduced himself as Jaskier. He was a good friend, Mr. Johnston, the principle, had told her when he updated her about her quietest student before school began. He took care of Geralt’s two children while the man labored away as a lumberjack to provide for them. A better man than anyone could hope to have in their lives, that was for sure.

“Sure,” she replied with her kindest smile. “He takes care of you while your dad works, right?”

“Yeah,” Dean muttered, wriggling in his seat with barely contained excitement. “He’s like a mom, right? He—He does things my mom used to do. So he’s a mom, right?”

“Well...” Susanna tried to hide her grimace. She couldn’t stand having to break his heart. Not when he gave her that hopeful look. “Yeah,” she finally said, her heart warming at the beaming smile he sent her. “Yeah, Dean. He’s like a mom.”

Dean grinned up at her, the brightest and happiest she had ever seen him. “I’m gonna make him the bestest card.”

“Would you like some help?”

“Thank you,” he said, ever the polite little boy. “But I can do it.”

He jumped out of his chair and hurried over to the supplies where Stacy was helping kids pick out what they needed.

Susanna had twelve other students she needed to help, but she stopped by every once in a while to make sure Dean was doing okay. His card was pink and red and sparkly, just like everyone else’s. The front even had shaky and more impressively mostly correct letters—only the ‘s’ was backwards, the lovely dear—saying “Happy Mother’s Day!” just like everybody else. The inside had a drawing of their little family—“Sammy and daddy and Jasky and me!” she overheard him tell Stacy as he upended more sparkles over the “Jasky” figure.

It was left to dry with the others on the windowsill as they moved on to their math lesson.

At the end of the day, Susanna made sure she was the one to help Dean gather his belongings as caretakers trickled in to pick up their kids. She offered to help him put his card in his folder to protect it, but he pulled it away with a grumpy frown.

“No!” he nearly shouted. It was the loudest she had ever heard him speak and it took her by surprise at his vehemence. “I gotta give it to Jasky.”

“Don’t you want to keep it protected?” she asked. What had gotten _into_ this child? Something she surely had to bring up to Penny the next chance she got. “You can give it to him when you get home.”

“I gotta give it to Jasky,” he repeated stubbornly, crinkling it a little as he pressed it to his chest.

Susanna held up her hands and backed away. “Okay. We’ll give it to Jasky when he gets here.”

Dean eyed her suspiciously, but nodded once with a grunt.

“Deanie!” a familiar bright voice called from the doorway as he entered. Sammy toddled next to him, his tiny fist gripped tight onto one of Jaskier’s fingers.

“Jasky!”

Jaskier’s eyes widened almost comically at Dean’s shout and subsequent charge at him to hug his legs. He looked over at Susanna, who only shrugged helplessly.

“Jasky!” Dean shouted again with a bright smile. “I made you something!”

“You _did_?” Jaskier bent down to be at Dean’s level, shuffling out of the doorway so other families could come in and out. “What did you make me?”

Dean shoved it into Jaskier’s chest, getting sparkles all over his bright yellow shirt. “I made you a Mother’s Day card!” Dean babbled happily, almost vibrating in place as he waited impatiently for Jaskier to look at his present.

“Mother’s Day—” Jaskier looked up at her with wide eyes.

Susanna forced out a laugh. “I didn’t want him to feel left out, and... Well... We came to the conclusion you’re like his mom.”

Jaskier’s eyes immediately started watering and he lifted a shoulder to rub the wetness from his eyes. “I love it, Dean,” he said, voice sounding thick and a little choked. “Thank you, baby.”

“Why are you crying? Did I do bad?” Dean’s tone of confusion and fear was just _heartbreaking_. Susanna’s own eyes filled with tears at the sound.

“I—” Jaskier sniffed. “I’m not crying sad tears, baby. You made me really happy.” He pulled Dean into a tight hug. “I love you so much, baby. Thank you so much.”

Dean wriggled a little in Jaskier’s tight hold. “ _Jasky_ ,” he whined.

Jaskier let him go with a quick kiss to his temple. “Let’s say we put the card in your folder so it doesn’t get bent or lost, okay?”

“Okay!”

Susanna rolled her eyes as Dean followed Jaskier’s suggestion. Children were funny like that, but no matter. She watched as Jaskier helped Dean put the slightly crinkled card in the folder, promising that it would be center stage on the fridge the moment they got home. Dean beamed and waved goodbye to her with the brightest smile she had ever seen.

Yeah. Once all the kids left she would have to make her way down to Penny’s room to update her on this frankly startling change to their precious boy.


End file.
